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Dear Parents,

These last weeks of summer I became acutely aware of the unnatural silence that hung over our campus. I have always felt suspect towards schools that are too quiet. Places where children and adolescents learn, were not designed to be quiet. I am happy that, since Wednesday, the school’s halls, classrooms, patio and cafeteria have been teeming with the sounds of students actively present. Welcome!

After our first day, one of our teachers commented to me that he felt "wonderfully exhausted." I hope your children were as well: charged, excited, happy, and after all the greetings and remembering of new names and locker combinations, tired.

The new year brings some new additions to our leadership team. I am delighted to introduce you to our middle/high school principal, Joe Santos. With his wife, Shelley, and eight month-old son, Henry, Joe has come to BFIS from the American School of Rio. Jane Narich is our new Director of External Relations (including marketing, development, and admissions). Jane comes to us from the American School of Paris. Her son Ben also joins us in the eighth grade. Roberto Baldizon, Technology Director, comes from Mexico City’s American School Foundation, and a new school, also in Mexico City, Winpenny. Their expertise greatly strengthens our leadership team. I am honored to have them at BFIS.

Underway are several initiatives and developments: NCL is about to take off with the new multimedia lab, projectors in many of our classrooms, and a wireless cart for grades 4 and 5. The fruits of our annual drive have also yielded a refurbished art room in the high school. We will have two artists-in-residence, and also a new K-12 music program, in partnership with the music school, I Tempo. We have two grade 11 exchange students from New York's Midwood High School who will be with us for the first semester.  We will be offering Spanish and English classes to parents beginning the third week of September. And, of symbolic importance, the community garden has flourished with tomatoes, basil, mint, strawberries, and corn stalks that are six feet high.

Please note two changes: 1) In an effort to help children learn responsibility, all text books and notebooks left on campus will be confiscated. The return fee is 1€; 2) As there is no official adult supervision until 8:30 am, we request that children not enter school until that time. In the coming weeks, we will be exploring ways to accommodate parents who need to drop off their children prior to 8:30 am
Finally, for those who are wondering where the four squares are, it will be the first art project for the elementary school.

On behalf of faculty, staff, the administration and the Board, we look forward to a year of growth and wondrous development for our children, and for all of us, as a community.

Farewells to those who have left us and a warm welcome to those who have just arrived.

David Penberg, Ph.D.
Director